Portable electric light.



Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

WITNESSES TTORN E Y CONRAD HUBEBT, OF HEWLETT, NEW YORK.

PORTABLE nnnorar'o LIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application filed May 29, 1915. Serial No. 31,090.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CONRAD HUBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hewlett, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, thereof.

My invention relates to portable electric lights or flashlights and relates more particularly to tubularflashlights having an electrically insulative shell or tube forming the principal part of the casing.

One of the objects of my invention is to produce an improved flashlight of the kind above mentioned in which the usual exforming part posed metallic fittings afford no opportunity for the short circuiting of the battery by reason of such fittings becoming accidentally bridged. Another object of my invention is to provide a circuit controller of improved construction particularl adapted to the above mentioned type of flashlights, and in this connection to provide for double control in which, for short periods of illumination, the circuit-controlling parts when released automatically return to the open circuit position and in which, for more prolonged periods of illumination, the closed circuit position of the parts is maintained until they are manually restored to the open circuit position. Other more particular objects and advantages of my invention will hereinafter appear.

My invention includes a contact box which supports the movable circuit completing means and more particularly includes an automatically returning contact member mounted within the contact box and operatable from the outside thereof and a bodily movable circuit-closing slide at the outside of the contact box for operating such member, My invention also includes features of construction and combinations of parts as will hereinafter appear.

I shall now describe the portable electric light illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodying my inventlon and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims. Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section with parts in elevation of a tubular portable electrlc light embodying my invention with the circuit in the open condition.

Fig. 2 is a similar enlarged view with parts omitted.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the contact box and parts carried thereby as viewed from above in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4. is an inverted plan of the same.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the contact box with the movable parts omitted.

Fig. 6 is a partial transverse section on a plane indicated by the line 66 of Fig. 2 as viewed from the right. F Fig. 7 is a similar view on the line 77 of Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the parts in the circuit-closing position.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the circuit in closed condition.

The tubular portable electric light or flashlight embodying my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings has a a usual lens 5 and a metallic reflector 6 shown as held between the lens 5 and the flanged end of the screw-threaded band 2 in electrically conductive relation with the latter and with the lens-holding band 4. At the rear end of the tube 1 a usual exposed metallic endcap 7 is screw-threaded over the band 3 and is provided at the inside with a usual battery-supporting elebtrically conductive coiled thrust spring 8. V

A cylindrical battery of common form and having a usual paper insulating tube 9, is shown in place in the casing with its zinc terminal 10 in contact with the conductive thrust spring 8 and its carbon terminal 11 in contact with the central terminal of a miniature incandescent lamp 12 which is supported by the reflector 6. The other terminal of the lamp 12, that is to say, its usual outer annular contact terminal forming the base of the lamp, is insulated from the electrically conductive lamp-su porting reflector 6 by means which are llv described and claimed in my United states 1 1 0 patent for portable electric light, No. 1,157,395, of October 19, 1915, and which will only be briefly explained. A metallic screw-threaded lamp socket 18 passes through a central hole in the metallic reflector 6 and is insulated therefrom. A metallic contact disk 14 is supported by the lamp socket 13 at the inside of the reflector 6 and is also insulated from the reflector. llhe lamp socket 13, the metallic contact disk 14: with which it is in electrical connection, and the intermediate insulation by which these parts are insulated from the metallic reflector 6, are firmly held in place by means of inner and outer flanges shown as provided on the lamp socket 13. Electrical connection between the metallic contact disk 14: and the zinc battery terminal is controlled by circuit controlling means embodying my invention and now to be described.

A longitudinal stationary contact strip within the casing shell 1 is turned inward at its forward free end so as to be engaged by the conductive contact disk 14 when the reflector 6 and the parts carried thereby are inserted in place in the forward end of the casing, the contact disk 14; being permanently held in contact with the inturned end of the contact strip 15 by the flanged clamp ring a which holds in place the lens 5 and reflector 6 and the parts carried thereby, it being noted that the contact disk 14: and the contact strip 15 are not secured together. The stationary contact strip 15 extends between the inside of the non-conductive shell 1 and the outer side of the insulating battery sheath 9, and the rear end of the contact strip 15 is secured to the shell 1 by means of a tubular metallic rivet 16 passing through the non-conductive shell 1 to the outside thereof and also, at the outside of the shell 1, passing through and holding in place a small metallic ring or collar 17 which together with the end of the rivet 16 forms a stationary contact stud at the outside of the non-conductive shell 1.

At the rear end of the non-conductive easing shell 1 a thin metal strip 18 is held in place at its rear end by and is in electrical connection with the screw-threaded ring 3 and extends forward within the non-conductive shell 1 to a point shown as somewhat at the rear of and also circumterentially removed from the tubular stud-forming rivet 16, at which point the conductive strip 18 is secured in place by means of a tubular rivet 19 which also holds in place and forms an electrical connection with one side of a sheet metal contact box 20 at the outside of the non-conductive casing part 1, the other side of the contact box 20 being shown as secured in place by means of a similar tubular rivet 21 which passes through the wall "of the non-conductive casing part 1. The

electrically conductive contact box 20 in its central part forms an elongated housing at the outside of and extending longitudinally of the non-conductive casing part 1 and is so positioned that the outwardly projecting contact stud formed by the tubular rivet 16 and its collar 17 projects within such housing at the forward end thereof but out of contact therewith as clearly appears in the drawings. Movable circuit completing means for controlling electrical connection between the contact box 20 and the contact stud 1617 are mounted on and carried by the contact box 20 and will now be described.

A flat or leaf spring 22 is mounted within the housing of the contact box 20 and is shown as firmly secured thereto at its rear end by means of a small tubular rivet 213. At its forward end the contact spring 22 overlies the stationary contact stud 16-l7 in spaced relation thereto, and adjacent to its forward end the contact spring 22 is provided with an inner indentation forming an outwardly projecting rounded push button 2+ which projects to the outside of the contact box 20 through a circular opening 25 therein. Manual pressure upon the projecting push button 2% will bring the free end of the contact spring 22 into contact with the contact stud 16-17 to close the circuit from the battery through the lamp 12 and when such pressure is removed the circuit will be broken by reason of the resiliency ot the contact spring 22.

At its outside the contact box 20 is shown as provided with a longitudinal guide ridge 26 formed by a corresponding indentation at the inside of the contact box, and alongside of the guide ridge 26 longitudinal slots 27 are provided. A bodily slidable circuitclosing member 28 is mounted on the top of the housing formed by the contact box 20 and is held in place thereon by means of lateral combined guide lugs and attaching lugs 29 which project to the inside of the housing through the slots 27 where they are turned over or clenched to hold the slidable member 28 in place on the contact box 90, the lugs 29 being of less width than the length of the slots 28 to provide for the sliding movement of the circuit-closing member 28. The push button spring 22 is of less width in its middle portion, giving more flexibility and providing free space for the lugs 29 of the circuit closing slide 28. The slidable circuit-closing member 28 is bulged outwardly in rounded form at its middle to form a longitudinally rounded projection which is readily engageable for manual actuation. t its ends the slidable member 28 has flat portions as shown which are in contact with corresponding flat outer surfaces of the housing, but along its middle at the ends the slidable contact member 28 is provided with a longitudinal inner indentation forming guide grooves which closely fit over the projecting guide ridge 26 on the top of the housing formed by the contact box 20. By pushing the slida'ble circuitclosing member 28 forward from its rear or retracted position appearing in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, it will over-ride and depress the rounded push button 24 on the contact spring 22 and the free end of the contact spring 22 will be forced against and held in circuit-closing contact with the stationary contact stud 1617 as appears in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings. An opposite or rearward movement of the slidable circuit-closing member 28 will permit the circuit to be opened by reason of the resiliency of the contact spring 22.

The guide ridge 26 on the top of the contact box 20 and the guide grooves 30 at the under sides of the-ends of the slidable circuit closer 28 cooperate to provide highly effective guiding means for the slidable member 28 which prevent any side move ments or angular movements of such slidable member 28. The ,mounting of all of the movable circuit completing parts on the contact box 20 greatly facilitates manufacture and also assures the proper cooperative relationship of such parts. It is to be noted that the connections from only one of the terminals of the battery are exposed at the outside of the casing so that it is impossible for the battery to be short circuited accidentally. Although the movable metallic circuit completing parts and the stationary contact box 20, forming a part of the circuit, are exposed at the outside of the casing, and though also the screw-threaded metallic ring or band 3 and end cap 7 are exposed at the rear of the casing, it will be noted that all these parts are connected to the same battery terminal, namely, the zinc terminal 10; and it will be further noted that the screwthreaded band 2 and metallic lens-holding ring 4 which are exposed at the front end of the casing are, together with the metallic reflector 6, entirely outside of or insulated from the electric circuit by reason of the fact that the tube 1 is of insulating material and that the metallic reflector 6 is insulated from the lamp socket 13 as hereinbefore described; and the contact stud 1617 is not exposed but, as hereinbefore noted, is housed within and covered by the contact box 20 but not touched thereby.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, an electrically conductive contact box provided with longitudinal guide slots and a longitudinal guiding ridge, and circuit completing means including a slide having guide lugs in the guide slots and having a longitudinal guide groove cooperative with the guide ridge on the contact box.

2. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a sheet metal contact box forming a housing and provided with ridge for a slidable circuit-closing member, circuit completing means includin a spring metal strip within the housing ormed by the contact box and fixed at one of its ends thereto, so as to be supported upon and carried by the contact box, and such metal strip at its other end having a rounded push button projecting to the outside of the contact box, and a slidable circuit-closing member having combined engageable in the slots of the contact box and provided with a guide groove cooperati've with the guide ridge on the contact box and sli'dable into or out of engagement with the push button thereby to efi'ect the closing or the opening of the circuit.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of two'witnesses.

CONRAD HUBERT.

guide slots and a. guiding guiding and attaching lugs 

